1934 London, Scottish & Provincial Airways Airspeed Courier crash

Last updated

1934 London, Scottish & Provincial Airways Airspeed Courier crash
Airspeed AS5.jpg
An Airspeed Courier, similar to the accident aircraft.
Accident
Date29 September 1934.
SummaryPilot error (loss of control due to disorientation in cloud)
SiteTimberden Bottom, Shoreham, Kent, United Kingdom.
Aircraft
Aircraft type Airspeed Courier.
Operator London, Scottish & Provincial Airways Ltd.
Registration G-ACSY
Flight origin Heston Aerodrome, Middlesex, United Kingdom.
Destination Le Bourget Airport, Paris France.
Passengers3
Crew1
Fatalities4
Injuries2 (on ground)
Survivors0

On 29 September 1934, an Airspeed Courier of London, Scottish & Provincial Airways Ltd crashed just north of Shoreham, Kent. The aircraft was on a scheduled international passenger flight from Heston Aerodrome west of London to Le Bourget Airport, Paris. All four people on board were killed. Two people were injured by flying débris.

Contents

Aircraft

The accident aircraft was Airspeed Courier G-ACSY, c/n 16. The aircraft had been registered on 17 May 1934, [1] The aircraft was on loan from Airspeed. [2]

Accident

The aircraft took off from Hounslow Aerodrome at around 17:00 on a scheduled international passenger flight to Le Bourget Airport, Paris France. [3] It flew into an isolated storm over north west Kent. [4] An eyewitness reported seeing the aircraft emerge from the clouds in a vertical dive. The cloudbase was at an altitude of 1,200 feet (370 m) and the hills around Shoreham reached an elevation of 600 feet (180 m). The aircraft crashed just north of Shoreham in Timberden Bottom, at the bottom of Cockerhurst Road. [5] All four people on board were killed, [3] Two women walking in the vicinity of the accident were injured when they were struck by flying débris. [4] some parts of the aircraft were found 66 feet (20 m) to the south west and 100 feet (30 m) west of the main wreckage. [6] An eyewitness stated that he thought the pilot may have stalled trying to avoid high tension power lines. [7]

An inquest into the accident was held at Sevenoaks on 2 October. The victims were identified by documentation and personal belongings as they had received injuries which made visual identification "extremely difficult, if not impossible".[ citation needed ] Evidence was given that the aircraft was not operating anywhere near its maximum take-off weight of 4,000 pounds (1,800 kg) and that it had been airworthy on departure from Heston. The pilot, Ronald Smith (26) from Ealing, was an experienced former Royal Air Force pilot. He had 1,500 hours flying time, of which 150 hours were on the Heston-Paris route. [6]

A memorial cross was installed near the crash site on Cockerhurst Road but after it was vandalised it was removed to Shoreham churchyard, by the north west corner of the tower. [5]

Related Research Articles

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1934:

Handley Page Type W Early British airliner

The Handley Page W.8, W.9 and W.10 were British two- and three-engine medium-range biplane airliners designed and built by Handley Page.

Heston Aerodrome Airport

Heston Aerodrome was an airfield located to the west of London, England, operational between 1929 and 1947. It was situated on the border of the Heston and Cranford areas of Hounslow, Middlesex. In September 1938, the British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, flew from Heston to Germany three times in two weeks for talks with Adolf Hitler, and returned to Heston from the Munich Conference with the paper referred to in his later "Peace for our time" speech from 10 Downing Street.

2008 Biggin Hill Cessna Citation crash

On 30 March 2008, a Cessna 501 Citation crashed into a house in Farnborough, London (UK), near Biggin Hill Airport, from where the aircraft had taken off a short time before. There were no survivors among the five people on board, which included former racing drivers Richard Lloyd and David Leslie.

Air France Flight 447 2009 mid-Atlantic ocean aircraft crash

Air France Flight 447 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Paris, France. On 1 June 2009, the pilots stalled the Airbus A330 serving the flight and then failed to recover, eventually crashing it into the Atlantic Ocean at 02:14 UTC, killing all 228 passengers and crew on board.

Frank Goodden

Major Frank Widenham Goodden was a pioneering British aviator who served as chief test pilot for the Royal Aircraft Factory during the First World War.

October 1926 Air Union Blériot 155 crash

The October 1926 Air Union Blériot 155 crash happened on 2 October 1926 at Leigh, Kent when Blériot 155 F-AICQ caught fire in mid-air and crashed while the pilot attempted to make an emergency landing at Penshurst Airfield. Both crew members and all five passengers were killed. This was the first in-flight fire occurring on an airliner.

August 1926 Air Union Blériot 155 crash

The August 1926 Air Union Blériot 155 crash happened on 18 August 1926 at Hurst, Kent when Blériot 155 F-AIEB of Air Union hit a barn and crashed whilst attempting to make a forced landing in bad weather. Two passengers were killed in the accident, and the pilot died a day later.

1930 Air Union Farman Goliath crash 1930 crash caused by tailplane structural failure

The 1930 Air Union Farman Goliath crash occurred on 10 February 1930 when a Farman F.63 Goliath of Air Union crashed whilst attempting an emergency landing at Marden Airfield, Kent following the failure of the starboard tailplane. Two of the six people on board were killed.

1934 Hillmans Airways de Havilland Dragon Rapide crash 1934 plane crash in the English Channel

The 1934 Hillman's Airways de Havilland Dragon Rapide crash occurred on 2 October 1934 when a de Havilland DH.89A Dragon Rapide of Hillman's Airways crashed into the English Channel off Folkestone, Kent, killing all seven people on board. The aircraft was operating an international scheduled passenger flight from Abridge Aerodrome to Le Bourget Airport, Paris. The accident resulted in the first write-off of a Dragon Rapide.

1929 Imperial Airways Handley Page W.10 crash 1929 ditching into the English Channel

The 1929 Imperial Airways Handley Page W.10 crash happened on 17 June 1929 when Handley Page W.10 G-EBMT suffered an engine failure and subsequently ditched in the English Channel off Dungeness with the loss of seven lives. The aircraft was operating an international scheduled flight from Croydon to Le Bourget Airport, Paris, France.

1947 BOAC Douglas C-47 crash

The 1947 BOAC Douglas C-47 Crash occurred on 11 January 1947 when Douglas C-47A G-AGJX of British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) crashed into a hill at Stowting, Kent, in southeast England, killing five people outright, with a further three dying from injuries received. The aircraft had been operating a scheduled international flight to West Africa via France. Poor weather caused the aircraft to attempt to divert. After attempts to land at a number of French airports, the pilot decided to return to the United Kingdom as he was running short of fuel. The aircraft crashed while attempting to land at Lympne Airport.

August 1923 Air Union Farman Goliath crash

The August 1923 Air Union Farman Goliath crash occurred on 27 August 1923 when a Farman F.60 Goliath of Air Union crashed at East Malling, Kent, United Kingdom following an engine failure and reported panic amongst the passengers. One person was killed and nine were injured.

1924 Imperial Airways de Havilland DH.34 crash 1924 aviation accident

The 1924 Imperial Airways de Havilland DH.34 crash occurred on 24 December 1924 when de Havilland DH.34 G-EBBX of Imperial Airways crashed at Purley, Surrey, United Kingdom killing all eight people on board. The aircraft was operating a scheduled international flight from Croydon, Surrey, to Paris, France. It was the first fatal accident suffered by Imperial Airways and led to the first public inquiry into a civil aviation accident in the United Kingdom. As a result of issues brought up during the inquiry, Croydon Airport was expanded, absorbing most of Beddington Aerodrome.

1920 Golders Green Handley Page O/400 crash First fatal UK airliner crash

The 1920 Handley Page O/400 crash occurred on 14 December 1920 when a Handley Page Transport Handley Page O/400 on a scheduled passenger flight from London to Paris with two crew and six passengers crashed at Golders Green in North London after take-off from Cricklewood Aerodrome. The crew of two and two passengers were killed in the first fatal accident for the airline since the service had started in December 1919. It was reported as the first recorded airliner crash in history, but a larger airliner had crashed the previous year.

A. E. Clouston

Air Commodore Arthur Edmond Clouston, was a British test pilot and senior Royal Air Force officer who took part in several air races and record-breaking flights in the 1930s.

1912 Brooklands Flanders Monoplane crash First properly investigated aviation accident

The 1912 Brooklands Flanders Monoplane crash was the first aviation accident in which an investigation was made into the cause of the accident and a report subsequently published, thus marking the start of aviation accident investigation worldwide. A Flanders F.3 Monoplane crashed at Brooklands, Surrey, United Kingdom, killing the pilot and his passenger. The cause was determined to be pilot error.

2015 Shoreham Airshow crash Aviation accident onto the A27 road in England

On 22 August 2015, a former military aircraft crashed on to a main road during an aerial display at the Shoreham Airshow at Shoreham Airport, England, killing 11 people and injuring 16 others. It was the deadliest air show accident in the United Kingdom since the 1952 Farnborough Airshow crash, which had killed 31 people.

Midland & Scottish Air Ferries was Scotland's first airline, operating from 1933 to 1934. It is particularly noted for pioneering flights to the Inner Hebrides

References

  1. "Civil Aircraft Register - Great Britain, Page 6". Golden Years of Aviation. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  2. "Heston". Flight (30 August 1934): 907.
  3. 1 2 Ingleton 2010, pp. 110–12.
  4. 1 2 "Four Killed in Air Crash". The Times. No. 46873. London. 1 October 1934. col G, p. 19.
  5. 1 2 "Air crash mystery". Eastern Daily Press. 4 June 2009. Archived from the original on 22 April 2014.
  6. 1 2 "Kent Air Crash Inquest". The Times. No. 46875. London. 3 October 1934. col D, p. 9.
  7. "The Shoreham Accident". Flight (4 October 1934): 1025.

Sources

Coordinates: 51°20′32″N0°10′30″E / 51.34222°N 0.17500°E / 51.34222; 0.17500